If Trader Joe’s Made These 11 Frozen Foods Vegan, We’d Never Have To Cook Again

In case you haven’t noticed, we love shopping at Trader Joe’s. However, being the diehard vegan foodies that we are, we want even more plant-based options than the grocery chain already sells. And, because sometimes we’re lazy, we want this change to occur in the frozen-food section of the store. Yes, we know eating frozen foods isn’t the healthiest choice for us, but sometimes we like the convenience of sticking something in the oven or microwave, and we’re not embarrassed to admit it. With this in mind, we’ve created a list of 11 vegan frozen foods we think Trader Joe’s should add immediately.

Veggie corn dogsWe definitely appreciate the sentiment of vegetarian corn dogs. However, we’d appreciate it even more if Trader Joe’s went one step further and made them vegan because even cruelty-free eaters need a carnival-food fix every once in a while.

Sweet potato gnocchi with butter and sageOur love for autumn has our mouths watering all year for this fall-inspired gnocchi. From the looks of the ingredients, the gnocchi itself might be vegan, so all we need is for Trader Joe’s to nix the cheese, add some vegan butter on there, and we’re ready to eat. Seriously, we’d owe them one if they did this for us.

Steamed chicken-soup dumplingsOften, as vegans, we feel left out of the dim-sum scene, so throw us a vegan bone, and give us some vegan soup dumplings already! If you did, we’d buy plenty of these for those cold, lazy nights when we don’t feel like ordering takeout or doing any real cooking.

Macaroni and cheese bitesWe know we’re asking for a lot with this one, but, seriously, we want a deep-fried ball filled with vegan macaroni and cheese, and we want it right now because we’re trying to save the animals, not fit into our pants. Plus, this item seems like it for the perfect crowd-pleaser at our vegan parties.

Chicken burrito-bowlThanks to readily available vegan chicken, brown rice, black beans, quinoa, corn and chipotle sauce, we know we can make this plant-based bowl ourselves. We just don’t want to.

Pepperoni pizza macaroni and cheese bowlWe have already mentioned pizza, macaroni and cheese, and a bowl on this list, but we haven’t mentioned it all in one meal, so it’s practically a whole new concept. Plus, as long as they’re making those vegan macaroni and cheese bites, Trader Joe’s might as well put some of it in bowls, and add some pizza sauce and vegan pepperoni. See, it’s easy!

Broccoli and cheddar cheese quicheQuiche is one of those magical foods that is appropriate for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. Quiche is also one of those foods that seems a magical pain to make, which is why we desperately need a vegan frozen quiche.

Grilled jerk chicken-thigh skewers with mango chutneyFaux chicken, tofu, vegetables … when mango chutney and jerk seasoning is involved, we don’t care what Trader Joe’s uses to make this vegan. In fact, vegans would love this thing smothered in yummy sauce as much as any meat eater, so please do us a solid, and make this plant-based.

Bibimbap bowlWe’re still not sure if we’re pronouncing this correctly, but we want it regardless. Our dream bibimbap bowl features faux beef, carrots, and spinach with a spicy chili sauce served over rice. This sounds simple enough, but this has gotten pretty great reviews, so we want to see what the fuss is all about.

Chili-lime chicken burgersWhile we’re big fans of the Thai Sweet Chili Veggie Burger and the Vegetable Masala Burger, we can certainly use some Southwestern flavors in our veggie burgers. We’re picturing this with lettuce, corn salsa, and sliced avocado (obviously).

Perri Lerner is a freelance writer on a mission to find all the best vegan food … because someone has to.